For decades, nightlife heavily defined social culture in the United States. Friday nights were for both happy hour and after-hours. Saturdays were for recovering then rallying for Round 2. Sundays, then, were left for either guilt or redemption.
Now? Saturday mornings are for PRs, long runs, cold plunges and coffee meetups. The ritual has shifted from the nightlife party scene to the daytime longevity practices.
Across the country, especially in fitness-forward cities like West Palm Beach, the rise of alternative beverages, THC seltzers, adaptogenic drinks, nootropic blends, and low- or no-alcohol options signals more than a category trend. It signals a cultural pivot from how people celebrate life.
From Escapism to Optimization
Last Rep founder Jason Ashton has seen the rise of wellness in social settings. “We’re seeing a noticeable rise in fitness-based events…and it’s no longer limited to daytime activities,” he says. “Run clubs and social clubs are gaining momentum weeknights and weekends.”
While he stops short of declaring it permanent, Ashton’s clear on its direction: Connection is increasingly centered around health and wellness.
“People want connection that adds to their life,” Oporto says, “not connection that requires recovery.”
For Gen Z, this isn’t even a pivot away from nightlife because many never built their identity around the party lifestyle. Their social defaults have centered around organized daytime activities, such as group fitness, pickleball, coffee shop brunches, even farmer’s markets.
For Millennials and Gen X, it’s all about recalibration. Time and energy have become scarce. Feeling good the next day matters more to these groups than empty gratification.
Add hybrid work schedules, wearable tech, quantified health, and mental health transparency, and the shift compounds. Brain fog has a measurable cost now. Sleep scores don’t lie.
Are Consumers Buying the Function—or the Identity?
Alternative beverages market adaptogens, nootropics, low-dose THC, functional mushrooms, low or no alcohol. But are consumers prioritizing ingredients or image?
All three experts agree: It’s both.
“I believe consumers operate with more of a directional understanding than a clinical one,” Ashton explains. “Movements like Dry January or Sober October create behavioral momentum first. Education follows.”
Oporto is blunt: “Most consumers aren’t evaluating doses or mechanisms. They’re responding to signals.”
Terms like “functional” and “adaptogenic” often operate as cultural shorthand for health alignment. Hardcore fitness enthusiasts may read labels and evaluate efficacy. The broader market buys into identity first.
In performance communities especially, what you drink communicates discipline, self-control, and alignment. The ingredients validate the choices, but the identity drives the behavior.
Fochtman sees the same arc playing out as it did with electrolytes years ago.
“Functionality brings them in. Identity keeps them there,” he says.
Drinks have become social signals.
The Reallocation of Vice
U.S. alcohol consumption has dropped to a 90-year low, with roughly 54% of adults reporting they drink, down from 67% just a few years ago. Meanwhile, the wellness market continues its rise, now estimated at $500 billion.
Is that correlation causal?
“We’re definitely seeing a reallocation of vice,” Ashton says. “The $15 that once went toward a cocktail might now go toward a THC seltzer and a recovery session.”
Fochtman agrees. “When alcohol spending decreases, that capital doesn’t disappear. It reallocates.”
He’s seeing crossover into:
Boutique fitness
Recovery services
Supplements
Performance beverages
Community-based events
The alt-bev buyer often overlaps with gym members, run club participants, cold plunge users, and retreat attendees.
But Oporto adds nuance: Not everyone who drinks less reinvests in wellness. It depends on why they drank in the first place.
If someone valued ritual and taste, substitutes feel meaningful. If they valued intoxication, alternatives may feel pointless.
The shift isn’t just economic. It’s psychological.
AltBev Expo: Experience the Future of Drinking
As social and wellness behaviors evolve, industry leaders are gathering to shape what comes next.
AltBev Expo brings the alternative beverage movement into a single experiential marketplace designed for brands, creators, and consumers exploring the future of drinking.
Set for February 27–28, 2026, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, the two-day event will showcase emerging and established functional beverage brands through sampling experiences, mixology demonstrations, educational panels, and networking programming. The expo will highlight products spanning low- and no-alcohol options, THC-infused beverages, adaptogenic formulations, and cognitive wellness drinks designed for energy, focus, and social performance.
Experiential activations will include a 5K run partnership, guided fitness classes, yoga sessions, and recovery environments such as cold plunges and sauna installations.
The message behind the event is simple: People aren’t walking away from drinking.
They’re evolving it.
Point Blank Period
Alternative beverages are not replacing social life. They are redesigning the ways we conduct ourselves during a night on the town.
The modern consumer isn’t choosing between connection and performance. They are choosing both.
And in a culture in which recovery, clarity, and longevity are becoming performance metrics, the social drink of the future may not be defined by alcohol content at all—but by how it supports what you’ll be able to accomplish the following morning.
